Renaissance Faire continues to grow in its 11th year

It was an epic battle in Ocean Springs. A clashing of the swords true to the Middle Ages. Crowds enjoyed the jousting show while the event organizers basked in another successful year.

On just day one of the fair, 1,100 people showed up. That's more than the total number of visitors for both days of the event last year.

"It's getting bigger and better every year. People know its in the same spot and same time every year. So it's just good things to come and I'm very happy," Event Creator Bon Ha said.

Putting on an event that pays so much attention to detail is no easy task. Not only does it take up to nine months of planning, but countless hours of volunteer work. Work that the Renaissance fans and volunteers alike say is worth every minute.

"It's a lot of fun. It's great to get out and see the kids and watching everyone enjoy the joust and falcon show. It's a labor, but it's a labor of love," Eric Ladner said.

As always, all that fun serves a very special purpose--helping the St. Jude Children's Hospital.

"I just love to give back and St. Judes is a great organization. I also love the Renaissance period so it's just fun all around," Linda Thompson said.

"I'm extremely proud. The whole idea was to bring the community together and we've accomplished so much together. Individually we do okay, but together we're just amazing. So again I'm extremely proud that this is going so well," Ha said.

Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

(AP Photo/Jennifer Kay). Six crosses are placed at a makeshift memorial on the Florida International University campus in Miami on Saturday, March 17, 2018, near the scene of a pedestrian bridge collapse that killed at least six people on March 15.

A matter of seconds between those who would live and those who would die as Florida pedestrian bridge topples down highway bustling with passing vehicles.

(Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP). FBI agents work the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 18, 2018. At least a few people were injured in another explosion in Texas' capital late Sunday, after three package bombs detonat...

Officials reported that an explosion in southwest Austin injured two men in their 20s who were hospitalized with injuries that didn't appear to be life-threatening.

(Joe Ahlquist/The Rochester Post-Bulletin via AP). Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a fatal stabbing Saturday, March 17, 2018, at the Salvation Army Castleview Residence in downtown Rochester, Minn. Police have arrested a man in the multiple...

Police have arrested a man in the fatal stabbing of two men at a Salvation Army apartment building in downtown Rochester, Minnesota.

Conway parents were arrested for unlawful neglect of a child after their baby was allegedly thrown from his car seat, according to a police report from Horry County Police. 20-year-old Juliana Biggerstaff and 22-year-old Jacob Lowman were arrested on Thursday after a complainant called police. Officers responded to a residence on Woodwinds Drive in Conway on March 14. Upon arrival, officers located a baby boy with a “visible injury to the top of his h...

Conway parents were arrested for unlawful neglect of a child after their baby was allegedly thrown from his car seat, according to a police report from Horry County Police. 20-year-old Juliana Biggerstaff and 22-year-old Jacob Lowman were arrested on Thursday after a complainant called police. Officers responded to a residence on Woodwinds Drive in Conway on March 14. Upon arrival, officers located a baby boy with a “visible injury to the top of his h...